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Indigenous Mothers Demand Health Emergency in Loreto as Minister Denies Nationwide Whooping Cough Spread

Regional officials report cases climbing in the Chambira basin despite declines elsewhere.

Overview

  • Urarinas mothers marched in Iquitos, giving authorities three days to declare a sanitary emergency and deploy medical teams to the Chambira river zone.
  • Indigenous federations report at least 52 recent child deaths in remote Urarinas communities, blaming absent care and delayed vaccination campaigns.
  • Loreto’s regional health office says the Chambira outbreak continues to grow even as pertussis trends fall in other provinces.
  • Health Minister Luis Quiroz says there is no mass contagion nationally and that only two of 52 national pertussis deaths between January and October occurred in Chambira.
  • The ministry cites S/4.5 million for emergency care, S/200,000 for Chambira logistics and vaccine coverage rising to 80%, while local leaders call a S/150,000 allocation insufficient and urge civic flights because low rivers and a lack of roads block brigades.